I No Longer Care.

I no longer care who wins this election. I just want my friends back. I want life to return to some sort of normalcy where conversations have a depth and substance that doesn’t include the ire, bias or a single mention of either of these two Presidential candidates. I want people to turn off their TVs and stop imbibing their yellow journalism sources and actually start thinking for themselves again. I want to feel proud to be an American when I visit foreign countries instead of concealing the conspicuous navy cover of my passport. I don’t want to be labeled, categorized, hashtagged, or relegated as “them” just because my skin tone is of similar hue as the protester du jour. I don’t want to feel like my life is in anyway dependent on how I answer the questions or the adeptness of my nervous movements when the officer taps on my window during a routine traffic stop. I don’t want to be the token, or “one of the good ones,” or feel the need to be extra this or that to prove that I belong.

I live in America. And in my own, unique way, I’ve helped to make this country great. My experience, like countless others in previous and present generations, has helped to prove that absolutely anything is possible and that your contribution will allow you to reap such amazing benefits from a land actually set up for your success. We’ve fallen victim to the media’s definition of what’s considered great or successful, perpetrated by Boardrooms full of men who manipulate the facts being disseminated to the masses for their own personal and financial gain. We’re turning our backs on one another instead of reaching backward to help pull someone forward. We’re behaving like savages, recording it and broadcasting it for sport. And the media outlets and online platforms are allowing it.

No President is going to be able to level the slippery slope this country is on. The fear, avarice, division, and apathy in this country has resulted from years of bombardment by social media and television programming. What you perceive as real is typically how you behave. And if you hear something enough times without taking the time to research it or vet it as truth, you’ll eventually accept and adopt it as such. And therein lies the problem. And it has nothing to do with Hillary or Donald.

I’m a life coach. And a minimalist. And now, a budding writer. But, more importantly, I’m an American. I don’t boast any flag tattoos or military service, but my blood bleeds red, white and blue. I grew up on a farm in East Texas and actually worked the earth. My grandparents raised me to be strong willed, but respectful of my elders, authority and the rules. I have traveled the world and done my best to be an ambassador for this country with each interaction I had on foreign soil. And to this day I open doors for people, nod/wave/say hello to passersby, connect friends to people who can help their causes, and see the good in everyone first and foremost, until they prove otherwise. That’s what being an American is.

I don’t like what this country has devolved into. I don’t like the way that people are behaving toward one another just because their ethos or skin tones don’t match. I’m not interested in judging your character based on whom you choose to vote for. I don’t like that there’s this perception that it’s “open season” on an entire races of people. I don’t purport to know the individual struggles that people are going through. Still I’m empathic to them, because I’m human and I actually care.

So bring on the next President, whomever it may be. Sure, I’ll be voting for the one I feel will do the least damage to an already flagging society. But it really won’t have a profound effect on my existence. My life is much larger and more beautiful than that.

So I’ll leave you with this.

Cast your vote. And be done with it. And then use every ounce of energy you have to create a life that is centered on the beauty that you see with each sunrise, the infectious laughter from the child in the next room, the hilarious kitten video that’s gone viral, and the realization that we’re all stuck on this beautiful planet and simply doing the best we can with what we have. And then, do your best. Walk in the light that you cast, not that’s cast by others. And make it a light that’s inviting and empathetic, filled with laughter and wonder and booze if your drink. Make it a light so bright and so perfect that it shines through the darkness that continues to spread among us. And people gravitate to it and you, because they know you’re not a victim. You’re one of the “special ones” who’s impervious to the fear, disillusionment and hopelessness resulting from this election cycle.

I no longer care. And because of it, I’m good. Now, it’s your turn.

If you’re interested or curious about working with a life coach, check out my website: phoenixnormand.com. I offer a free consultation by phone or Skype. It all starts with a conversation. I can help make sense of the insanity of this election season and help set you on an individual path that’s filled with the important things that fill you with happiness and hope. Worst case, I can be that guy who will call you on your B.S., tell it like it is and set you straight. We all need that from time to time. Chat soon!